


Love with Avengeance

by Halfling



Category: Marvel (Movies), The Avengers (2012)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-10
Updated: 2011-12-16
Packaged: 2017-10-27 04:20:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/291565
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Halfling/pseuds/Halfling
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony and Steve have an argument right before the Avengers are sent on a mission.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Shut up

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted at my [tumblr](http://halfsuper.tumblr.com/)

Tony Stark never really thought about who he was attracted to. He’d just find himself looking at someone and wanting them to shut up. Not for the usual reasons, mind you. He constantly wanted people to shut up because the garbage falling from their mouths annoyed him to no end, but this kind of shutting up wasn’t about what they were saying at all. It was about letting Tony think, letting him really look at them, smell them, feel them, without the distraction. He knew it was a little hypocritical of him, because he hardly, if ever, stop talking. But he would if someone he wanted to shut up, not for that first reason but the second one, actually did shut up. When that happened, he knew he was hooked.

The first time he told Steve to shut up was after they’d be training together in the Stark Tower’s gym. Steve just wanted to go over technique, something about Tony’s hand-to-hand combat lacking foresight, but staring at the man in front of him, Tony just wanted him to be quiet for a moment.

“What?” Steve looked shocked, then hurt, then indignant. The emotions flowed over his face with such clarity that Tony forgot to consider their implications.

“Just be quiet a moment.” Tony took a step back to better see Steve. His muscles defined the tight t-shirt that Steve always wore when working out. His chest was making it slightly damp with sweat, rising and falling with slightly increased rhythm. His blond hair was also slightly sweaty, one particular strand having broken away from its brethren and was sticking to his forehead. His face… His face was hurt again.

“Tony, if you don’t want to listen you will never improve. If we are to be part of the same team it’s essential that I can rely on you to work on these things.”

“I know, it’s just, later, okay?” Tony needed to get out of there, pronto. He headed downstairs to his workshop without bothering to shower. He needed to get his hands on something mechanical to let himself think.

He had reformatted an engine by the time Steve entered the workshop. “Tony, I know you’re used to doing things one way, your way, and I respect that but I came here to tell you that just isn’t acceptable anymore. Fury put me in charge and Pepper says I just need to be firm with you.”

Tony knew he didn’t mean it that way, but it irked him in spite of himself. “You went to Pepper behind my back? To talk about how to _handle_ me?”

“She said you were probably going to get defensive, but—”

“Yeah, well, she would know, wouldn’t she?”

“She only wants what’s best for our team.”

“Sounds to me like she only wants what’s best for you.”

“It’s not like that, Tony. You’re acting like a child.”

“Shut up. Get out.”

“What?”

“Do you need a road map? Leave my workshop, now.”

“If you’re going to be like this I can revoke your S.H.I.E.L.D. status, Fury put me in charge.”

“So you keep reminding me. Jarvis, show the star-spangled wonder out, please.”

“So this is what Fury meant when he said you were too immature to be on this team. I’m disappointed, Tony.” Steve turned and left, leaving Tony fuming.

“Jarvis, take away Steve Rogers’ access clearance for the workshop. I don’t want to see him in here again.”

“I’m afraid Steve Rogers has revoked your administrative security status, sir.”

“Prick. Since when did he learn to work the system so quickly?”

“I believe Ms. Pepper Potts is assisting him in that manner.”

“Great. Why lose the favor of one person when I can lose the favor of everyone?”

“Would you like me to order you new engine valves?”

Tony looked down and realized he’d welded two engine valves together. “Shut up, Jarvis.”


	2. A mission

Steve felt terrible about arguing with Tony. He felt even worse about following through with his threat to take away his S.H.I.E.L.D privileges. But Director Fury and Ms. Potts had both made it perfectly clear to him that the way to control Tony was to be resolutely firm with him. Control him, like he was an animal. It just seemed wrong. The Avengers couldn't have a weak leader though, so until he found a better way, it would simply have to be this way.

He was already exhausted from his earlier workout, followed by sparring with Tony, but right now all he felt like doing was going back to the gym and hitting something really, really hard. Unfortunately, Nick Fury had other plans for him.

"I need to speak with you, Cap." Fury came up behind Steve out of nowhere, as usual. He was one of the few people who could startle him like that.

"Can it wait, sir?"

"No, it can not. My office, now."

They walked in silence, the imposing swish of Fury's coat seemed to echo in the hallways, which were mysteriously devoid of the usual hustle and bustle of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents scurrying to and fro.

When the reached the large office, Fury took a seat behind his desk. "Shut the door, soldier."

"Sir?"

"I see you revoked Iron Man's clearance."

"Sir, I can explain--"

"There's no need to, Cap, I'm not here to bust your balls. So long as you file the proper paperwork I couldn't give a rats ass what you do with Mr. Stark. That's why I put you in charge, he's your problem now."

"I understand, sir."

"I know you do, that's not why you're here. Agents Barton and Romanoff are back from their last assignment, and I’ve called in Dr. Banner. The Avengers have a mission.”  
“What about Thor?”

“Thor is otherwise occupied. I’m sure you can handle this one without him, it’s a little below our pay grade but you guys could use the practice. Agent Coulson will fill you in.”

“What about Iron Man?”

“What about him? Like I said, he’s your problem now.” There was a knock at the door behind him and Agent Coulson stuck his head in.

“Your presence is requested downstairs, Captain. I can brief you on the way,” he turned to Fury, “If you’re done with him, Director.”

With a nod from Fury, they were off. “We have a mission, sir?”

“Gas explosion at a local paint factory. It was under construction so there were no casualties. You’re mostly wanted for crowd control and cleanup.”

“Doesn’t that seem more like a job for local authorities?”

“It’s mostly publicity. The Avengers are still new in the eyes of the public; you need to show them good will.” In the entrance hall, Hawkeye and Black Widow were half in uniform, half in civilian clothes, arguing half-heartedly about something someone said somewhere.

“Agents, attention!” Natasha snapped to without hesitation, Clint glared and slowly followed suit. “The Avengers have been issued a mission, I leave you in the capable hands of Captain Rogers. Need I remind you, he is your superior, so any disobedience will be met with proper repercussions.” Coulson directed that last comment directly at Hawkeye, who smirked. “Good luck.”

Hawkeye and Black Widow looked at Steve expectantly. “Right. Avengers, get ready and assemble here in 20 minutes.”

The moment Steve turned his back the two of them went back to bickering. That didn’t bode well for this little mission. Steve went to grab his uniform and to see if he could track down Bruce. He briefly debated about telling Tony about the mission, but ultimately decided against it.

What was the worst that could happen?


	3. A bad idea

Pepper brought Tony dinner in the shop again. She did that sometimes, mostly when she was worried about him or feeling guilty about something. Days like these, he would spend hours on end absorbed in his work, fueled by nothing more than chlorophyll shakes and pure obsession. Meals were never a priority but also never unwelcome.

"You look like a mess, Tony."

He stared at her blankly.

"More than usual, I mean."

He shrugged. "Wouldn't be the first time I had an argument with someone. I'm a big boy, I'll be okay. No need to dote on me like this, you know."

"I know, but still. It is the first time since you were made a full Avenger that you weren't taken on mission, and I just thought--"

"Wait, what?"

"What?"

"The Avengers had a mission?"

"Well, yes, I thought you knew!"

"And I wasn't invited?"

"Tony, calm down! Captain America thought it best--"

"Oh, I have no doubt that Captain Asshole did exactly what he thought best, right after consulting with you and Fury first." Tony pushed his dinner away and went to the closest monitor to pull up the information on the latest Avengers activity.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"You and Fury have been conspiring against me, putting ideas in his head. You know, he doesn't need your help. For one, just because he's from the 40's and doesn't know a whole lot about modern technology or current events doesn't mean he's stupid, and two, he already thinks I'm an uncommunicative child, he doesn't need you two telling him I'm a dick to make it any worse."

"He said that?"

"As much. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm needed at the ruins of a local paint factory." Tony got Jarvis to get him in the Mark VI armor.

"Tony, this is a bad idea."

He turned to fly off. "I know."

The situation was even less heroic than Agent Coulson had made it out to be. For the first hour, all they did was keep the small crowd of bystanders away from the building until the fire department was able to declare it safe to approach. After the flames were gone, most of the crowd got bored and left, leaving the Avengers “Earth’s Mightiest Heroes” on clean-up duty.

Hawkeye made it quite clear to anyone who would listen that if he weren’t under direct orders he would never have to “put up with this not-shooting-things shit.”

Black Widow made it quite clear that she knew more swear words in more languages than anyone else on the team.

The Hulk, having hulked out once the fires were out, proved the most useful, but only with a lot of supervision and patience, two things that of the other three, only Steve could bear.

It was getting dark, and everyone was getting hungry when Iron Man flew in. Steve had explained to the others that he wouldn't be joining them when Hawkeye had complained but he hadn't said why. It just wasn't a conversation he felt like having right now.

"Captain America," Tony's voice sounded metallic and amplified coming from the Iron Man suit, "we need to talk."

The others looked at Steve expectantly but he just shooed them back to work. "Not now, Iron Man."

Tony dropped in front of Steve and opened his face mask. "I wasn't asking, Steve."

Steve heaved a sigh. "If we must. Here." He handed Tony a metal detector. "Anything metal gets dug out and put in that dumpster. If you can't lift it, get Hulk to help, or if it's close enough, Hawkeye rigged a pulley system from the central support."

Tony stared at the metal detector for a moment as if deciding if it was worth it to throw it at Steve's head but eventually reason won out and he started to do as Steve asked.

"I am an Avenger."

"No one said you weren't."

"Yes, you did. The moment Fury gave the Avengers a mission and I wasn't told was the moment you decided I wasn't one."

"The Avengers are a team. If you can't be trusted to work with us--"

"Who said I couldn't be trusted to work with the team? I'm great with team work! Look," he flew over to where Hawkeye was struggling with a large section of wall and blew it in two with a repulsor blast, "See? Go team." Hawkeye rolled his eyes and flipped him off. He flew back to where Steve was working.

"The Iron Man armor is impressive, but that was never in question. What I need from you is cooperation and respect when we're training."

"Oh, so that's what this is about? Because I told you to shut up when we were sparring? I say that to everyone, I wasn't being uncooperative."

"It was unprofessional."

"Yeah, well you know what else is unprofessional? Leaving people out of the loop just because you're angry at them."

"It wasn't like that."

"Yes it was. Know what? Doesn't matter. I'm out of here. If you need me, I'll be in my lab, avoiding all of this." He gestured to the mess all around them, that for their work didn't really look that much better than when they'd arrived, hours before. "Peace." He took off again, leaving a glowing trail behind him.

"Everything alright, Captain?" Black Widow had snuck up behind Steve without his notice.

"Yeah, actually, I think we should probably call it a night. I keep hearing Hulk's stomach growl and I'm pretty sure Hawkeye's asleep up there." They both looked to the top beams of the center of the building which was still standing. Hawkeye was perched and looked alert from his posture but his eyes were closed.

Black Widow was aiming to throw a rock at him when the ground collapsed beneath their feet.


	4. Hold onto your butts

Tony wasn’t sulking. He was merely avoiding everyone he knew by hiding in his workshop and acting generally ill-tempered.

“That isn’t sulking,” he explained to Jarvis for the third time.

“If you insist, sir. How, may I ask, would you describe your current behavior if not in that fashion?”

“I’m…You know, I don’t remember programming you to be so inquisitive.”

“I don’t remember the last time you worked on my programming at all, sir.”

“If that’s a hint, I’m ignoring it.” He dropped his voice to a grumble, “Insolent son of a…”

After shedding the Iron Man suit, he began throwing things around, looking for something to distract himself from his thoughts.

He was digging through a pile of scraps when he came across one of the crazier prototypes of Captain America’s shield. He stared at it in anger for a full minute, trying to decide how best to destroy it. He picked it up, still debating which method to use, when a piercing alarm went off overhead. He dropped the shield in surprise, briefly wondering if Steve had somehow rigged it with a security system before realizing that was a ridiculous idea.

Outside the workshop, some SHIELD personnel ran by looking concerned. He had just decided to ignore it when he heard Fury’s voice on the intercom: “All higher ranking agents are to meet in the hanger, Iron Man, that includes you.”

“Oh, great. Something goes wrong and now he wants me?”

“Shall I prep the Mark VI again, sir?”

“If it makes you happy, dear.”

\---

When he arrived at the hanger, SHIELD agents were running every which way. He had seen so few of them in the halls before he really had to wonder where they’d all been hiding before now.

“Stark!” Fury surprised him from behind, as usual. “I don’t remember calling you here, I said Iron Man. Now get your butt into that shiny-ass suit of yours and get the hell down here, now!”

Tony turned around and headed back, grumbling the whole way. “Great, now the damn computer is going to get smug. Bastard, I hate it when he’s smug.”

The next time he arrived at the hanger, only Fury and his two pets, Hill and Coulson remained. “Took you long enough, do you realize we have a situation, here?”

“Oh, is that what that noise means?”

“I don’t have time for your mouth, Stark. If I wanted it, I would ask for it. Here’s the deal: the paint factory that exploded earlier was apparently built on a sinkhole waiting to happen. Now, it’s collapsed and taken the Avengers minus you with it.”

“So what, you expect me to help them after you convinced Captain America not to include me?”

“Yes, that is exactly what I expect, do you have a problem with that?”

They locked eyes, or in Fury’s case, eye. Tony gave in. “No problem.”

“Good. Now I heard you’ve already been there so I won’t bother giving you directions. We’ll be joining you by helicopter shortly, there should already be several SHIELD agents on scene. Do what you can to help, but DO NOT MAKE IT WORSE. I don’t care what went down between you and Captain America, do you understand?”

“Yessir.” He struck a mock-salute and headed out for the paint factory.

Back in the hanger, Fury powered up the helicopter. “Well, this should be fun. Hold onto your butts.”

 

\------

 

It was pitch black when Steve came to. That alone wouldn't be reason to worry too much, but he quickly realized he couldn't move his arms or legs, and in fact one of his arms had no feeling from the elbow down. He could move his head from side to side, and there seemed to be air enough to breathe but when he tried to shout he found his chest was too compressed to get enough air. Still, Steve had been in tighter spots in WWII, no need to panic. Somewhere above his head something heavy and metal groaned as if under strain.

Courage. He had courage. That was what everyone always said. He'd been accommodated time and time again for it, but right now it was hard to remember why. Steve didn't feel courageous, he felt downright scared. Because things were bad, and he knew it.

"Okay," he whispered aloud to calm himself, "Assess the situation. Positives: I'm alive, I don't seem to be concussed, and most of my limbs seem to be intact. I can't reach my intercom, but SHIELD knows where we are."

He wondered how long they would wait after receiving nothing but radio silence from them to send someone to investigate.

"Well," he figured, "I'm not alone. Black Widow was right next to me when we fell, and the Hulk was nearby. Hawkeye might have escaped, and if so he could contact Fury and let them know what happened. I bet help is already on the way."

There was more groaning, and this time something big moved somewhere off to his left.

"I just hope it hurries."


	5. Digging deeper

When Tony arrived on the scene there was utter chaos. SHIELD agents were busy moving rubble, working from the edges inward. One helicopter was carefully lifting an unconscious and bleeding Hawkeye from the middle of the wreckage-filled crater. Tony's heart sank at the sight of it all. If Steve was stuck somewhere in there, what chance did he stand at surviving?

He flew to the middle, first trying to throw beams and drywall out of the crater, but eventually just digging. Looking for anything with that shade of blue he knew so well. Or red.

They had been working for an hour when they discovered Bruce. He was bruised and shaken, but looked no worse than he usually did after he'd been the Hulk. His mean and green form had created a cavity that protected him from the debris. The other two would not have been so lucky, but they kept looking.

Around midnight, one of the SHIELD teams found Black Widow. She had a broken arm and a nasty-looking gash on her head but she was lucid enough in the helicopter on the way to the hospital to tell them she'd been standing beside Captain America when all hell had broken loose. It was a good sign. They kept searching.

Tony was not an emotional man. Enthusiastic, yes. Impassioned, yes. He had been called many things, but sentimental was not one of them. So when he found his face was wet, it took him several minutes to realize it was not a malfunction in the Iron Man helmet. Tony was crying.

He chalked it up to stress. He chalked it up to exhaustion. He chalked it up to dehydration (which didn't make any sense, but he was desperate). He even chalked it up to alcohol withdrawal, though it'd been almost a year since his last drink. Eventually, he couldn't avoid his own feelings any longer. He was worried to tears about Steve.

Every minute they spent looking for him was another minute Steve could be losing blood, or going without air. Each second meant the odds of finding him alive dropped. Tony just couldn't bear the thought.

They had had their differences, yes. But before their little spat earlier today, he had considered Steve one of his closest friends. That meant a lot when you considered how few friends Tony actually had. It was more than that, though. Before their stupid argument, when they'd been just sparing in the gym, that was the best Tony had felt in a long while. He belonged there, at his side, working so they could fight the good fight and make up for Tony's past mistakes.

What was the last thing he'd said to Steve? He tried to think back, but his memories were too jumbled to make any sense. It didn't matter anyway, if Steve died angry at him, it would be more than he could stand. It would be like losing Pepper, or Happy. Worse even, because in a way Tony couldn't quite define yet, Steve meant more to him than just a friend. When he told him to shut up this morning, what had that meant?

"Stark!" Tony was pulled from his thoughts by Fury's sudden voice in his head.

"What!?"

"Was your com off? I've been trying to get you to respond for the past five minutes, we thought you had gotten trapped under there yourself!"

"I'm fine." Tony looked around himself and realized he'd dug so deep into the mess that he could only barely see the glow of the floodlights far above him.

"I'm suspending you until you've got some sleep. You're no good to us if you pass out down there."

"If it means the same to you, sir, I'd rather keep looking. Can't sleep knowing one of my teammates is still down here."

"Well as happy as it makes me to know you've gotten past your little spat with Captain America, now is not the best time to play the hero."

"I just need to get a little deeper, sir. I can find him."

"I've got people up here telling me if you dig much deeper you'll cause another collapse."

"Well they aren't where I am, and I'm telling you it's fine."

"It is most certainly not fine, I specifically remember telling you not to make things worse!"

"If you want me to stop, you're going to have to come and get me, and without a suit like mine you aren't going to make it very far. Sir."

"I will have your ass for this, Stark. Come out of there right now!"

"Miss you too, honey." Tony switched off the com, against Jarvis' protests. He was getting close, he could tell. He knew if their roles were reversed Steve would have done the same thing to save Tony.

Right?


	6. In the dark

In the dark, Steve was alone with his thoughts. There had been increasing noise coming from above. He hoped it was a sign of a rescue, but he tried not to keep his hopes up. It could just as easily be settling debris.

A million things flashed through his mind, but what he kept coming back to, oddly enough, was Tony. He worried for the others, who could very well be trapped down here with him, but still, he just couldn't get his thoughts around it. Why had he been fighting with Tony? Tony was his best friend. Everything had been fine before today, he just couldn't understand what had changed. Tony had always been stubborn, but now? It was like he didn't even know him.

The noise above him had stopped for a while, he realized, but just as suddenly it began again. Breathing was getting more difficult now. He could feel the temptation to panic rising up from his stomach. What would happen if he didn't get out of here in time? Eventually he would run out of air, he supposed. Even the greatest human body science had ever created couldn't survive long without that.

He tried to move his limbs again. His legs and right arm were still stuck fast, but he could just barely move his left arm. First just the wrist. Then, a little give in the forearm. His strength was failing him fast as the air grew thinner, but if he could just--

A sudden shift clamped down again, hard. The sounds above him grew muffled and distant. His lungs burned with an effort to find oxygen. He began to see stars, and just before he passed out, he swore he saw the glow of an arc reactor.

\---

"Steve!" "Steve! Answer me!" Tony pulled and pushed and blasted until he held Steve in his arms. He wasn't answering, but he had a weak pulse. It was all the proof of life Tony needed. "Steve, I'm going to get you out of here, just hang on."

The hole Tony had dug down to get Steve was too skinny for the both of them to fly out, so climbing was the only option. Even with the Iron Man suit's help, the going was slow. Steve was apparently solid muscle, and weighed more than he looked.

They had made maybe five feet of progress when a loud crack rang out overhead. At pieces of debris slid down, then a few more. It was an avalanche in a moment, and Tony did the only thing he could think to do: covered Steve's body with his own. It was several long minutes before quiet returned, and by that time the hole Tony had painstakingly dug out for hours was gone.

Tony had Jarvis turn his com back on. "Fury, are you there?"

Silence.

"Director Fury, this is Stark, do you hear me?"

Brief static, then more silence.

There was a faint noise beside him, that Tony quickly realized wasn't from the com. "Steve? Are you with me?" It was so hard to tell, he opened his helmet to see his face with his own eyes.

"Tony?"

"Steve! Are you okay? Can you breath? Am I crushing you?"

"Tony, I, yes, I can breath now, how are you here?"

"I found you! But, there's been a bit of a cave in."

"The others, are they?"

"They're fine, they're good, well, nothing a few doctors and some sick leave can't handle. We rescued them!"

"Like you're rescuing me?"

"I'll admit, it's not the best rescue I've ever done, but hey, you're alive."

"Yeah." Steve coughed weakly and groaned, clutching his chest with one arm.

"You're hurt."

"A little. What was that you said? Nothing a few doctors and some sick leave can't handle. How are you holding up? You look like hell."

"Says the guy who's been stuck in a hole for hours on end."

"Have you been looking for me this whole time?"

"Yeah, well I couldn't let the Avengers' first real mission in months fail. Plus, it'd be a real downer around the office if you died."

"Glad to know you think so highly of me." Steve smiled thinly and tried to laugh, but all that came out was a pained gasp.

"I do think highly of you." Tony didn't smile. Gingerly, he reached out and pulled at the edge of Steve's uniform.

Even with only his arc reactor for light, he could see the skin on Steve's chest was one giant bruise. From the way Steve reacted, he could only assume broken ribs, and hope for nothing worse.

"About earlier today," Steve began.

"Forget it."

"I'm sorry."

"You're sorry? Dammit, I'm the one who should be sorry. I was an insensitive jackass and you deserve better."

"Tony,"

"No, it's true. Just hear me out, I'm not good with apologies, alright? But, I am sorry. And I promise I'll try to listen better and be cooperative, and to not tell you to shut up when you're trying to tell me something. Seem fair?"

Steve smiled again, and this time there was real heart behind it. "Seems fair."

Tony shifted awkwardly. "I'd shake your hand, but your right arm isn't looking too good."

Steve glanced down at it and shrugged his left shoulder. "It's been better. I'm not too worried about it though, I use my left for my shield."

Tony gasped. "Oh your shield, I completely forgot about it, is it here?"

"No, no, it's safe back at Stark Tower, I never thought I'd need it for a simple clean-up mission."

"Captain America without his shield? What's the world coming to?"

"Falling to pieces, apparently. Speaking of which, would you happen to have a plan to get us out of here? Not that I'm in a hurry or anything."

"Oh yeah. Well, when I started looking for you I had envisioned grabbing you and flying out triumphant to the applause of adoring onlookers, but these things never turn out exactly how I envision them."

"Well, no matter what happens, I'm glad you're with me, Tony." Steve reached up and lightly touched Tony's face with his good hand.

Tony blushed, and fumbled for words. That didn't happen to Tony very often. "I guess, if I had to chose someone to be trapped with under a pile of volatile building material, you'd be my first choice."

"Good to know." Steve smiled again, and Tony felt that feeling creep over him again. Steve wasn't even talking, but he suddenly had an overwhelming desire to tell him to shut up. "What is, Tony?"

Tony reached out to Steve's face and pulled him into a kiss. He hadn't really consciously decided to do it, but once he did, there was no stopping it.

The best part? Steve kissed him back.


	7. Epilogue

It was another hour before Steve and Tony were rescued. Tony insisted on going straight to the hospital and refused to leave his bedside, even when an overly-polite nurse asked very kindly for the fifth time.

“Please, sir, regular visiting hours won’t start until noon.”

“Well I’m not a regular visitor.”

“The visiting hours for spouses and significant others open at 8, that’s just a couple hours away. You could go home, get some rest, change out of that suit…”

Tony had honestly forgotten he was still wearing the Mark VI armor. “Opens at 8, you said? That should be enough time to change and come back I suppose.”

“But sir, that’s only for spouses and significant others…”

Tony just chuckled at that. He turned to Steve, who was lying in the bed hooked up with tubes. “I’ll be back buddy, I promise. Even if I have to buy this hospital to do it.” He said that last part louder than necessary for the benefit of anyone else on the staff within earshot.

To the nurse he said, “Will he wake up before I’m back?”

“No, he’s sedated pretty heavily. The doctor should be bringing him out of it sometime around noon.”

“Excellent. I’ll be back in a few.” He kissed Steve on the forehead and left.

\---

True to his word, Tony was back at 8 sharp, and he made sure his face was the first thing Steve saw when he woke up. It took some convincing from both of them, but eventually Steve was released on the condition that he continue to be observed by SHIELD’s medical staff.

Back at Stark Tower, they were in the gym at Steve’s insistence. “I’m feeling much better, Tony. You forget, my body heals at a much faster rate than normal.”

“Doesn’t mean you can’t take it easy for a few more days.”

“It’s been long enough already, come on. I’ll take it easy on you, I promise!”

“You taking it easy on me isn’t exactly my worry right now, Steve.”

“Okay, how about this. Either you hit me like you mean it, right now, or I’ll make you sleep in your own bed tonight.”

Tony threw a punch like he meant it, but of course Steve blocked it. “Not fast enough!”

“You weren’t complaining about me taking it slow last night.”

“Shut up, Tony.”


End file.
